GATE, PATH, BOAT, CLOUD, BIRD

 

GATE, PATH, BOAT, CLOUD, BIRD 

                   Ten thousand boats

                   useless beneath the sky

                               Du Fu*

Robins in the Juneberries

fly wild between house and branch

using rooftop as a place to launch

at sunrise. Red berries

don’t stand a chance at burgundy

Blossoms from China Snow

hang heavy bending branches

over the street when I walk

through inside gate in North Park

pollen falling yellow

all over my hat, over brim

onto my eye brows

making me sneeze

Out back under paper birches

eating berries with milk

I look up when Karen comes out

walking with her eyes, and says,

It’s it's--I don’t know where to sit

Jim Bodeen

6 June 2024

*Answer to a Letter from my Brother about the Floods,

translated by David Young